Hundreds stranded as floods wreak havoc along Garissa-Mwingi road

Hundreds of passengers and motorists plying the Garissa-Nairobi road were on Tuesday morning stranded at Tula and Arer area in Bangale sub-county, Tana River county after floodwaters cut off two sections of the road.

This was the second time the road was being cut off in five months after El Nino rains destroyed it in December.

The roads were temporarily restored by KeNHA to allow free flow of traffic on the major highway which is the entry and exit to the North Eastern region.

When the press visited the area, hundreds of stranded passengers and motorists could only watch helplessly as floods rendered the road completely impassable.

Nineteen people had been rescued.

Meanwhile, passengers on a Wajir-bound bus spent the night atop the bus after the ranging floods swept it away at around midnight.

When the press visited the area, the bus was still tacked in the flood waters as rescuers devised ways of rescuing the passengers mostly women, children and the elderly.

Fatuma Mohamed, a passenger on the bus who spoke to the press, said that they had spent the night in the cold calling on the government to move with speed and repair the road.

“It is unfortunate we are experiencing the same problem four months down the line. My question is where is the government of the day as we are suffering? Aren’t we paying taxes that should be used to repair this road and many others that have been destroyed,” he said

Speaking separately to the press in his office, Garissa County Commissioner Mohamed Mwabudzo urged motorists plying the Garissa-Nairobi highway to exercise extreme caution when approaching the damaged section of the road.

Mwabudzo said the government is monitoring the situation on the road and will advise the motorists accordingly.

“We are anticipating more flood waters because the dams that drain this water on Tana River could overflow anytime soon. This therefore the already damaged sections of the road could even get more flooded and endangering road users,” he said.

He urged road users to be cautious and avoid driving in the flood waters.

The county Commissioner also called residents living in flood-prone areas along the River Tana to move to high and safer grounds.

He said that so far, there are no casualties calling for a coordinated approach from all government agencies and especially the chiefs.

On Monday evening KeNHA in a statement announced the closure of the Nairobi-Garissa[A3] road due to flooding at Mororo between Madogo and Tana river bridge.

The flooding at Mororo has compromised one lane of the road, this poses high safety to the road users.

"The flooding is a result of the ongoing rains which have occasioned rising water at the Tana River. The increased water has prompted an advisory that the seven folks dams are rapidly feeling to near full capacity,” KeNHA said.

KeNHA said the road shall remain closed until the flood water subsides and the damaged section is reinstated.